"WSQ image library" for Windows 64-bit (version 2.1)
FBI certified WSQ implementation number: 11280 (scanned certificate)





  

WSQ image library adds the power of WSQ (FBI's Wavelet Scalar Quantization) file format to your software projects using only a few lines of code.
The library also supports other graphic file formats and allows conversion between them.

Free WSQ Viewer demonstrates capabilities of WSQ image library.


Importance of WSQ format


Electronic fingerprints submitted to the FBI either through Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), or Electronic Fingerprint Image Print System (EFIPS) may not be compressed with any technique other than WSQ.

Licensing of WSQ image library


How long does the license last?
Buy once, use forever!
The license is perpetual. There is no annual fee. There is no timing limitation.
“WSQ image library” is NOT a subscription.
All future updates are included with your one-time purchase at no additional charge.
You will get all updated versions of “WSQ image library” without any additional payment.


Price of WSQ image library


Licensing of “WSQ image library (for Windows 64-bit)” is available in two ways:

1) runtime free/royalty free. This means when you buy such a license, your organization/company can run “WSQ image library (for Windows 64-bit)” on unlimited number of computers.
WSQ image library (for Windows 64-bit) runtime free / royalty free license costs 758.00 U.S. dollars.

2) licensing individual computers. The price for the first license (single developer license) is 189.00 US dollars, and the price for additional client licenses is 19.00 US dollars per license. One license means one computer.
Let you illustrate with the example.
Suppose you want to run “WSQ image library (for Windows 64-bit)” on six(6) computers.
Then the price will be:

189.00 US dollars (first license) + 19.00 US dollars x 5 (five additional client computers) = 189.00 + 19.00 x 5 = 284 US dollars.

Android, Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit, Linux 32-bit, Linux 64-bit and macOS 64-bit versions of WSQ Image Library are considered separate products and each has its own pricing.
To order "WSQ image library (for Windows 64-bit)" please click here


WSQ image library specifications




Table 1 Format of WSQ image library

FeatureFormat
Operating systemWindows 2003/NT/XP/Vista/7/8/10/11 (64-bit)
Library formatDLL (Dynamic Link Library)
Format of exported functionsC language
Calling convention
of exported functions
(default)		__cdecl
Calling conventions
of exported functions
available through additional
wrapper DLL interface		JNIEXPORT
Internal engineC++



Table 2 Supported formats for reading

FormatDescription
WSQFBI's Wavelet Scalar Quantization
BMPWindows Bitmap Graphics
TIFFMacintosh Tagged Information File Format images
TIFPC Tagged Information File Format images
JPG, JPEG, JPE, JFIJoint Photographic Experts Group images
JP2, J2KJPEG2000 Part 1 images
JPCJPEG2000 Code Stream images
PNGPortable Network Graphics images
GIFCompuserve Graphic Interchange Format images
TGATruevision Targa Graphic images
PCXZSoft Paintbrush images (PC Paintbrush Bitmap Graphic)
PPMPortable Pixel Map Images
PGMPortable Gray Map Images
ICOWindows Icons
WMF, EMFWindows Metafiles
WBM, WBMPWireless Bitmap File Format
SKASKA Format images
MNG, JNGMuti-image Network Graphic Animation
PNM, PGM, PPMPBM Portable Any Map Graphic Bitmap
RASSun Graphic
RAW, CRW, CR2,
DNG, ARW, ERF,
3FR, DCR, RAW,
X3F, MEF, RAF,
MRW, PEF, SR2,
ORF		RAW Graphic



Table 3 Supported formats for writing

FormatDescription
WSQFBI's Wavelet Scalar Quantization
BMPWindows Bitmap Graphics
TIFFTagged Information File Format (no LZW compression)
PNGPortable Network Graphics
JPEGJoint Photographic Experts Group
TGATruevision Targa Graphic
JP2JPEG2000 Part 1
JPCJPEG2000 Code Stream
GIFCompuserve Graphic Interchange Format images
PNMPBM Portable Any Map Graphic Bitmap
RASSun Graphic
MNGMuti-image Network Graphic Animation
PCXZSoft Paintbrush images (PC Paintbrush Bitmap Graphic)



Table 4 Functions available in the library

FunctionDescription
HBITMAP CreateBMPFromFile(const char *filename)Creates an HBITMAP from an image file. The extension of the file name determines the file type. Always returns 24-bit DIB (Device Independent Bitmap) HBITMAP. Returns an HBITMAP if successful, NULL otherwise.
SaveBMPToFile(HBITMAP hBitmap, const char *filename, int filetype)Saves the contents of an HBITMAP to a file. Returns 1 if successful, 0 otherwise.
"filetype" denotes integer with possible values:
1 - WSQ
2 - Windows BMP
3 - TIFF
4 - PNG
5 - JPEG
6 - Targa
7 - not available
8 - JP2
9 - JPC
10 - GIF
11 - PNM
12 - RAS
13 - MNG
14 - PCX
HBITMAP CreateBMPFromWSQByteArray(unsigned char *input_wsq_byte_array, int size_of_input_wsq_byte_array)Creates an HBITMAP from WSQ compressed byte array. Returns an HBITMAP if successfull, NULL otherwise.
int SaveWSQByteArrayToImageFile(unsigned char *input_wsq_byte_array, int size_of_input_wsq_byte_array, const char *filename, int filetype) Saves WSQ compressed byte array to an image file. Returns 1 if successfull, 0 otherwise.
"filetype" denotes integer with possible values:
1 - WSQ
2 - Windows BMP
3 - TIFF
4 - PNG
5 - JPEG
6 - Targa
7 - not available
8 - JP2
9 - JPC
10 - GIF
11 - PNM
12 - RAS
13 - MNG
14 - PCX
void WriteWSQ_bitrate(double bitrate)Sets current WSQ bitrate. For example 0.75, 2.25 (-1.0 if unknown).
double ReadWSQ_bitrate()Reads current WSQ bitrate. For example 0.75, 2.25 (-1.0 if unknown).
void WriteWSQ_ppi(int ppi)Sets current WSQ ppi (pixels per inch). Value "-1" is used for unknown ppi.
int ReadWSQ_ppi()Reads current WSQ ppi (pixels per inch). Value "-1" is used for unknown ppi.
void WriteWSQ_comment(char *comment)Sets current WSQ comment text.
char* ReadWSQ_comment()Reads current WSQ comment text.
void WriteTIFFcompression(int tiff_compression)Empty legacy function. For compatibility with Windows 32-bit version of the WSQ image library.
void WriteTIFFpredictor(int tiff_predictor)Empty legacy function. For compatibility with Windows 32-bit version of the WSQ image library.
void SetShowFilePropertiesDialog(int file_properties_dialog)Empty legacy function. For compatibility with Windows 32-bit version of the WSQ image library.
void ShowFileConverter()Empty legacy function. For compatibility with Windows 32-bit version of the WSQ image library.
int WSQ_decode_stream(unsigned char *input_data_stream, const int input_stream_length, unsigned char **output_data_stream, int *width, int *height, int *ppi, unsigned char **comment_text)Decodes memory stream (memory block) from WSQ format into uncompressed format. Returns 1 if successful, or error code otherwise.
int WSQ_encode_stream(unsigned char *input_data_stream, const int width, const int height, const double bitrate, const int ppi, char *comment_text, unsigned char **output_data_stream, int *output_stream_length)Encodes memory stream (memory block) from uncompressed format into WSQ format. Returns 1 if successful, or error code otherwise.
HBITMAP ConvertHBITMAPtoGrayScale256(HBITMAP hBitmap)Converts any HBITMAP to 8-bit 256 grayscale HBITMAP. Returns an HBITMAP if successful, NULL otherwise.
int SaveHBITMAPtoFileAsGrayScale256BMP(HBITMAP hBitmap, const char *filename)Saves the contents of an HBITMAP to 8-bit 256 grayscale BMP file. Returns 1 if successful, 0 otherwise.
int ReadWSQ_implementation_number()Reads WSQ implementation number.
RegisterWSQ()Registers WSQ image library on the computer. Returns 1 if successful, 0 otherwise.



WSQ format description


In the USA, fingerprints have traditionally been collected on cards, each card containing the inked impressions of all ten fingers. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's fingerprint database began in 1924 with a cataloged collection of 810,188 cards. By the start of World War II, this collection had grown to over 10 million cards, and by 1946 had reached over 100 million cards.

In 1995 this collection was contained on over 200 million cards stored in filing cabinets occupying one acre of floor space in the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington D.C. and archive size was increasing at the rate of 30,000 to 50,000 new cards per day.

Digitization of fingerprint cards seemed to be the most obvious choice and the project named FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) was started to cope with the design and implementation of a national standard for collecting, encoding, storing, and retrieving digitized fingerprint images. According to the FBI standard fingerprints are stored as 8-bit grayscale images. Each fingerprint card, when digitized at 500 dpi requires about 10 Mbytes of storage. The FBI's entire collection would therefore consume two petabytes (2,000,000,000 megabytes) of electronic storage space.

The need for an effective compression technique was then very urgent. Unfortunately, neither the well-known lossless methods nor the JPEG methods were found to be satisfactory. Most lossy compression methods, such as JPEG, discard the smallest (highest frequency) details in images, and at higher compression ratios unacceptably distorts the image. Contained within fingerprints are tiny details that are considered admissible points of identification in a court of law. To JPEG, these details may be regarded as noise and removed. The JPEG quantization matrix also allows blocking artifacts to occur in the image at compression ratios above about 10:1. Shifting bits to the high frequencies to preserve small details will only make the blocking worse.

Lossless compression methods, such as LZW and JBIG, cannot achieve the high compression ratios of WSQ on fingerprint data, with 2:1 typically being the best.

A new compression technique (with small acceptable loss), called Wavelet Scalar Quantization (WSQ) was developed and it became the FBI standard for the compression of 500 dpi fingerprint images.

WSQ is a lossy compression method that is well-suited for preserving the very high resolution details of grayscale images while maintaining high compression ratios of typically 12:1 to 15:1 on images that have not undergone "quality enhancements" (such as histogram equalization) to improve the appearance of the image.



Table 5 WSQ file format specifications

FeatureDescription
NameFBI's Wavelet Scalar Quantization file format.
Also known as: FBI Fingerprint Format or FBI WSQ
ApplicationThe standard file format used by the FBI for storage and interchange of grayscale fingerprint images
OriginatorFBI (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation)
TypeBitmap
Colors8 bit grayscale
CompressionWavelet Scalar Quantization
Maximum image size64K x 64K
Multiple images per fileNo



Adding WSQ image library to your software project


Using WSQ image library is very easy. Only 2-3 steps and a few lines of code are needed. Several examples are provided below.

Important notice:
Make sure that Microsoft Visual C++ 64-bit (x64) redistributable package is installed in your computer.

“WSQ image library (for Windows 64-bit)” was compiled using Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 version compiler.
You need to install “Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)”.

The download link is:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26368
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)


Adobe_Photoshop
Microsoft Visual C++
Microsoft Visual C++ .NET
Microsoft Visual C# .NET
Microsoft Visual Basic .NET
Embarcadero C++ Builder
Sun Java
MinGW C/C++
Embarcadero Delphi
Lazarus
PHP


Adobe Photoshop


Step 1
Please copy all files:

   
WSQImport_64.8BA
WSQExport_64.8BE
WSQ_library64.dll
to the Adobe Photoshop plug-ins directory, like for example:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2017\Plug-ins\Import-Export

Step 2
Restart Adobe Photoshop. WSQ plug-ins will be available in Adobe Photoshop menu:

   
File->Import...->WSQ Import...
File->Export...->WSQ Export...

To download WSQ plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop click here



Microsoft Visual C++


Step 1
Load WSQ library and declare its functions. Add following lines to your code:

   
typedef (*SaveBMPToFile)( HBITMAP hBitmap, const char *filename, int filetype);
typedef HBITMAP (*CreateBMPFromFile)( const char *filename);
typedef (*RegisterWSQ)();

SaveBMPToFile  pSaveBMPToFile;
CreateBMPFromFile  pCreateBMPFromFile;
RegisterWSQ pRegisterWSQ;

HINSTANCE hWSQ_library;
hWSQ_library = LoadLibrary("WSQ_library64.dll");

pSaveBMPToFile = (SaveBMPToFile) GetProcAddress(hWSQ_library, "SaveBMPToFile");
pCreateBMPFromFile = (CreateBMPFromFile) GetProcAddress(hWSQ_library, "CreateBMPFromFile");
pRegisterWSQ = (RegisterWSQ) GetProcAddress(hWSQ_library, "RegisterWSQ");

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
hbitmap = (pCreateBMPFromFile)((LPCSTR)dlgFile.GetPathName());
or 
(pSaveBMPToFile)(bitmap->GetBitmap(), (LPCSTR)dlgFile.GetPathName(), dlgFile.m_ofn.nFilterIndex);

Step 3
Unload WSQ library. Add following line to your code:

   
bRes = FreeLibrary(hWSQ_library);

To download Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 MFC Application sample project click here



Microsoft Visual C++ .NET


Click here for important notes for .NET developers
Step 1
Load WSQ library and declare its functions. Add following lines to your code:

   
[DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll", EntryPoint = "CreateBMPFromFile", CharSet = Unicode)]
static Int32 CreateBMPFromFile(String* filename);
[DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll", EntryPoint = "SaveBMPToFile", CharSet = Unicode)]
static void SaveBMPToFile(IntPtr hBitmap, String* filename, Int32 filetype);
[DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll", EntryPoint = "RegisterWSQ", CharSet = Unicode)]
static void RegisterWSQ();

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
picture->Image = Image::FromHbitmap(CreateBMPFromFile(ofd->FileName));
or 
SaveBMPToFile((new Bitmap(picture->Image))->GetHbitmap(), sfd->FileName, sfd->FilterIndex);

To download Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2008 Windows Forms Application sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2010 Windows Forms Application sample project click here



Microsoft Visual C# .NET


Click here for important notes for .NET developers
Step 1
Load WSQ library and declare its functions. Add following lines to your code:

   
[DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr CreateBMPFromFile(String lpszFileName);
[DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll")]
public static extern void SaveBMPToFile(IntPtr hBitmap, String filename, Int32 filetype);
[DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll")]
public static extern void RegisterWSQ();

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
bp = CreateBMPFromFile(ofd.FileName);
or 
SaveBMPToFile(bp, sfd.FileName, sfd.FilterIndex);

To download Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2008 sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2010 Windows Forms App sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2013 Windows Forms App sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2017 Windows Forms App sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2022 Windows Forms App sample project click here



Microsoft Visual Basic .NET


Click here for important notes for .NET developers
Step 1
Add declarations of WSQ library functions using PInvoke (platform invoke) mechanism :

   
<DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll", CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.Cdecl, CharSet:=CharSet.Unicode)> _
Shared Function CreateBMPFromFile(ByVal lpszFileName As String) As IntPtr
End Function
<DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll", CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.Cdecl, CharSet:=CharSet.Unicode)> _
Shared Function SaveBMPToFile(ByVal hBitmap As IntPtr, ByVal lpszFileName As String, _
ByVal ifiletype As Short) As Short
End Function
<DllImport("WSQ_library64.dll", CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.Cdecl, CharSet:=CharSet.Unicode)> _
Shared Sub_RegisterWSQ()
End Sub

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
OutputPicture.Image = Bitmap.FromHbitmap(CreateBMPFromFile(OpenFileDialog1.FileName))
or 
iResult = SaveBMPToFile((New Bitmap(OutputPicture.Image)).GetHbitmap(), SaveFileDialog1.FileName,
SaveFileDialog1.FilterIndex)

To download Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2008 sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2010 Windows Forms App sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2013 Windows Forms App sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2017 Windows Forms App sample project click here
To download Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2022 Windows Forms App sample project click here



Embarcadero C++ Builder


Step 1
Load WSQ library and declare its functions. Add following lines to your code:

   
typedef (*SaveBMPToFile)( HBITMAP hBitmap, const char *filename, int filetype);
typedef HBITMAP (*CreateBMPFromFile)( const char *filename);
typedef (*RegisterWSQ)();

SaveBMPToFile  pSaveBMPToFile;
CreateBMPFromFile  pCreateBMPFromFile;
RegisterWSQ pRegisterWSQ;

HINSTANCE hWSQ_library;
hWSQ_library = LoadLibrary("WSQ_library64.dll");

pSaveBMPToFile = (SaveBMPToFile) GetProcAddress(hWSQ_library, "SaveBMPToFile");
pCreateBMPFromFile = (CreateBMPFromFile) GetProcAddress(hWSQ_library, "CreateBMPFromFile");
pRegisterWSQ = (RegisterWSQ) GetProcAddress(hWSQ_library, "RegisterWSQ");

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
hBitmap = (pCreateBMPFromFile)(AnsiString(open_dialog->FileName).c_str());
or 
(pSaveBMPToFile)(OutputImage->Picture->Bitmap->Handle, AnsiString(save_dialog->FileName).c_str(),
 save_dialog->FilterIndex);

To download Embarcadero C++ Builder 10 Seattle click here



Sun Java


Click here for important notes for Sun Java developers
Step 1
Add declarations of WSQ library functions using JNIEXPORT wrapper interface:

   
System.loadLibrary("WSQ_library_jniexport");
public static native int[] CreateBMPFromFile(int[] dimension, String fileName);
public static native void SaveBMPToFile(int[] data, int width, int height, String fileName, int type);
public static native void RegisterWSQ();

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
int[] data = WSQ_Demo.CreateBMPFromFile(dimension, fileName)
or 
WSQ_Demo.SaveBMPToFile(pixels, width, height, fileName, type)

To download Sun Java (Java SE Development Kit 8u144) sample project click here



MinGW C/C++


Step 1
Load WSQ library and declare its functions. Add following lines to your code:

   
typedef HBITMAP (WINAPI *CreateBMPFromFile)(const char *filename);
typedef void (WINAPI *SaveBMPToFile)(HBITMAP hBitmap, const char *filename, int filetype);
typedef int (WINAPI *RegisterWSQ)();

CreateBMPFromFile CreateBMPFromFile_ptr = 0;
SaveBMPToFile SaveBMPToFile_ptr = 0;
RegisterWSQ RegisterWSQ_ptr = 0;

HINSTANCE g_wsqLibrary = 0;
g_wsqLibrary = LoadLibrary("WSQ_library64.dll");

CreateBMPFromFile_ptr = (CreateBMPFromFile)GetProcAddress(g_wsqLibrary, "CreateBMPFromFile");
SaveBMPToFile_ptr = (SaveBMPToFile)GetProcAddress(g_wsqLibrary, "SaveBMPToFile");
RegisterWSQ_ptr = (RegisterWSQ)GetProcAddress(g_wsqLibrary, "RegisterWSQ");

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
g_hBitmap = CreateBMPFromFile_ptr(szFileName);
or 
SaveBMPToFile_ptr(bitmap, szFileName, ofn.nFilterIndex);

Step 3
Unload WSQ library. Add following line to your code:

   
bRes = FreeLibrary(g_wsqLibrary);

To download MinGW C/C++ 4.7.0 sample project click here



Embarcadero Delphi


Step 1
Add declarations of WSQ library functions:

   
function CreateBMPFromFile (const file_name: PCHAR): HBitmap; cdecl; external 'WSQ_library64.dll' 
name 'CreateBMPFromFile';
function SaveBMPToFile( const bitmap : HBITMAP;  const filename : PCHAR; filetype: Integer):Integer;
cdecl; external 'WSQ_library.dll' name 'SaveBMPToFile';
function RegisterWSQ():Integer; cdecl; external 'WSQ_library.dll' name 'RegisterWSQ';

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
OutputImage.Picture.Bitmap.Handle := CreateBMPFromFile( PAnsiChar(AnsiString(open_dialog.FileName)));
or 
SaveBMPToFile( OutputImage.Picture.Bitmap.Handle, PAnsiChar(AnsiString(save_dialog.FileName)), 
save_dialog.FilterIndex);

To download Embarcadero Delphi 10 Seattle sample project click here



Lazarus


Step 1
Add declarations of WSQ library functions:

   
function CreateBMPFromFile (const file_name: PCHAR): HBitmap; cdecl; external 'WSQ_library64.dll' 
name 'CreateBMPFromFile';
function SaveBMPToFile( const bitmap : HBITMAP;  const filename : PCHAR; filetype: Integer):Integer;
cdecl; external 'WSQ_library64.dll' name 'SaveBMPToFile';
function RegisterWSQ():Integer; cdecl; external 'WSQ_library64.dll' name 'RegisterWSQ';

Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
OutputImage.Picture.Bitmap.Handle := CreateBMPFromFile( PCHAR(open_dialog.FileName));
or 
SaveBMPToFile( OutputImage.Picture.Bitmap.Handle, PCHAR(save_dialog.FileName), 
save_dialog.FilterIndex);

To download Lazarus 2.2.2 sample project click here



PHP


Step 1
Click here for important notes for PHP developers
Step 2
Call and use WSQ library functions:

   
//converts image from WSQ format to JPG format
wsq_convert_image("./sample_image.wsq","./output_JPG_image",5);
or 
$image1 = wsq_read_image_from_file("./sample_image.wsq");
or 
wsq_save_image_to_file($image2, $output_fileName, 5); //save image as JPG

To download PHP 4/5/7 sample project click here



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